Somebody Else
by DayLightDove
Summary: (AU) When Keith returned to the castle as a representative of the Blades, he noticed that Shiro was acting differently. Sure, he looked the same as he always had, but he was different. He was colder, harsher. He wasn't the brother Keith knew and the other Paladins were noticing as well. When he decides to look closer, Keith may discover something rather important. (Clone Shiro Fic)
1. Chapter 1

**OK so this is a new story!**

**This was inspired by the Song "Somebody Else" by Flora Cash. More specifically by the refrain. Obviously I do not own this song nor the lyrics! Also this is not a song fic. Its just inspired by a song.**

**I do not own Voltron Legendary Defender. I do not own the lyrics of "Somebody Else".**

**Also.**

"Regular talk"

_'Thinking/thoughts'_

**Onto the story!**

* * *

_Well you look like yourself, But you're somebody else, Only it ain't on the surface, _

_Well you talk like yourself, No, I hear someone else though, Now you're making me nervous_

_"Somebody Else" - Flora Cash_

* * *

Keith couldn't place it, but as he came back to visit the Paladins, he couldn't help but notice that Shiro wasn't acting as he usually does. Given, Shiro had gone missing and dealt with being captured by the Galra once more, but this was more than this. This was more than how he had acted controlling back when Keith piloted the Black Lion. It was more than his lack of...bonding he had with the team. It was something else, something Keith couldn't place.

But it's something that has now lasted far past the length it should have.

Keith thought Shiro would have been better with having Black back. He thought that through the support of the Lions and the others on the ship that he would have had help dealing with whatever new PTSD sprung up from the new trauma. But he was still acting as he had before Keith had left. He was still taking control without thought of others. He was still tense, watching the others and glaring if they disagreed. He still gave Keith the cold shoulder (something that truly hurt Keith deep inside. He would never admit it out loud, but he couldn't help the crushing sorrow that came from the dismissals. What had he done to his brother?) and there just seemed to be some wall there that wasn't there before he'd gone missing.

Was it Keith? Or was he just imagining this sudden schism between them? Did his presence put him on edge? But why? Keith can safely say that he wasn't going to come in and take back the Black Lion (He didn't think he was allowed to. After all, he had clearly been the problem in the past). He wouldn't do that, not when they seemed to have a good system down. Not when he knew he would cause more of a schism between the others than Shiro was doing, so it had to be him, right?

But why?

"Hey, Shiro, is everything alright?" Keith asked when it was just the two of them.

"What do you mean?" Shiro asked, turning to quirk an eyebrow at the other.

Keith shrugged, his arms coming closer to where they were crossed across his chest, showing his discomfort. "It's just...you seem a bit different. That's all. Are...Are you stressed or something?"

Shiro furrowed his eyebrows. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I just...you seem...tense is all." _'You seem distant.' _Keith couldn't voice his true thoughts on this, too used to hiding his emotions to do so and the said distance didn't help him feel as though he could confide in his brother.

"Well, with all the planning going on to take down Zarkon, plus the remaining factor of Lotor, and everything else going on with the coalition, there's just a lot going on." Shiro replied, his tone suggesting that this should have been obvious.

"I get that, but you know you need to take a moment to breathe every once and awhile, right? I mean, you have the others to help you out." Keith hoped that would ring a bell for the other since the older male always told him that exact thing when Keith was over stressing and doing things alone.

Shiro shook his head though, "Not all of us have the ability to relax, Keith." The pointed look he gave the half-galran made Keith wilt, shame filling his chest. Even though he was still here to act as a representative for the Blades for the time being until his next mission, he didn't realize that it may seem like a vacation to others. Is that how they saw it?

"Right."

Shiro sighed. "Look, it's nice to see you and all, and the information is helpful. I am curious, though, how long are you going to be staying."

'_When will you be gone?_' Is what Keith heard and his heart hurt even more. Maybe he was just adding to the stress. Sure, he's been asked this question before, but he's never heard it sound so...cold from Shiro. Hell, even back when he and Lance bantered, the teen had never actually sounded as if he wanted Keith gone.

"I...uh...only a few more quintants, a movement at most." Keith replied, his hands tightening on his arms and his gaze falling away from the other to look at the floor.

"Alright, then hopefully you'll be able to get everything you need to tell the Blade in that timeframe." Shiro replied with a nod of his head. A ping from his communication device filled the tense silence and Shiro looked down at it before speaking again. "I have to go now, Keith, if you don't mind."

"No, go right ahead."

"Thanks." And he left. There was no pat on the shoulder, no see you later. Nothing that reminded Keith of his brother-figure. Nothing but how he looked. He couldn't even say Shiro sounded that same to him. Yeah the same voice, sure, but it was different.

But...maybe that was just on Keith. After all, he was the one who left for the Blades, he started this divide when he placed the Blades over Voltron. Hell, Shiro hadn't even protested when he originally left. No one had, but Shiro's lack of response hurt the most.

Shaking his head, Keith turned to leave the room to go to his own bedroom for the rest of the day until he was needed once more.

After all, it was probably best he stay out of the way.

* * *

"Hey, Mullet!"

Keith blinked at the voice calling to him, confused but willing to acknowledge the call from his former teammate. He watched as Lance walked up to him, smile on his face.

"Yeah?" Keith asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Dude, are you going to just hide in your room again?" Lance huffed, crossing his arms. "You've been doing that since you got back! Why don't you spend time with us or something? You know, socialize?"

Keith frowned. "Lance, I'm here representing the Blades. This isn't a vacation."

Lance rolled his eyes. "Yeah, your a representative when there are meetings going on, but not right now. I get you've been busy being a secret spy but like, even you have to relax once in a while."

"Lance-."

"Nope! No, I will not listen to whatever excuse you are thinking up, I know its a lie." The Paladin grabbed the half-galran's arm and began pulling him in the direction Keith remembered was the lounge. The former Paladin remained silent as he was pulled into the room where he found Hunk and Pidge playing what seemed like a type of card game.

"Keith!" Hunk cried happily, seeing the other being pulled in by Lance. "You're here!"

"Er, yeah." Keith said awkwardly as he stood off to the side, not sure whether he should sit down or not.

Pidge, however, noticed his hesitance and rolled their eyes. "Just sit down already. You're making me uncomfortable by just standing there." With that Keith sat down on one part of the couch.

"Man, some things never change." Lance sighed. "Mullet is still clueless when it comes to social interaction."

Keith scowled. "I'm not clueless."

Lance raised an eyebrow. "When I say 'vol' you say 'tron'. Vol-!"

"Voltron."

"See! You still don't even get cheers! How can you say you're not socially clueless!

"It's your cheer that doesn't make sense! Why wouldn't you just say 'Voltron'!?"

"Because that's not the point!"

"The point is to cheer on Voltron, right? So just say 'voltron'!"

Lance sighed, placing his hands over his face. "You're killing me, here, Keith. Just killing me!"

Hunks laugh brought them out of their banter. "Ah man, I missed this."

"Missed what?" Keith asked, turning away from Lance to look at the yellow Paladin.

"This." Hunk replied, pointing at the two of them. "I mean, it's been weird not hearing you guys banter all the time. I missed it."

Pidge sighed from their spot as well. "Yeah, it makes things seem almost normal again."

"Almost normal?"

The three Paladins seemed to share a look at Keith's question and for a second he thought he'd half to ask again when Lance spoke up.

"I mean, yeah man. Everything has been different since you left. Not that I miss you or anything, but, like, at least when you were here not everything was so…" Lance paused, trying to find the right word. "Tense."

"What do you mean by tense? I thought things would go a lot smoother once Shiro was leader again."

"That's just it." Pidge piped up. "Ever since you left, Shiro's still been really...off. He's distant and cold. He...he's not the same."

"You noticed, right?" Hunk asked. "I mean, you knew Shiro for a long time and while I know you've been gone you had to have noticed he was different."

"I mean, yeah, I noticed." Keith shrugged, his head turning to that he was now looking towards the floor. "But...I just assumed he was one edge from...from everything that was going on right now."_ '__From me'_

Hunk shook his head, his mouth in a frown as he spoke. "No, he's been like that since you left. He's...he's not as kind as he used to be either. When we mess up...he's not afraid to put us down. He's also more focused on leading and not so much as...working together. He won't listen to any of us anymore." His eyes flicked towards Lance for a moment, seeing the drawn look the other had and knowing how upset the other Paladin has been lately due to the treatment.

Keith bit his lip, fingers fiddling in his lap. "Maybe he's still coping, you know? I mean, we don't know what happened to him when he went missing. Plus, he's leading the team again so there's obviously more stress."

"Then you should come back and lead the team again." Pidge said, with a huff.

Keith shook his head. "No, Shiro's the better leader. We went over this already. I'm better with the Blades."

But Pidge continued to frown, not taking their eyes off of the former Paladin. "If he was the better leader, than why did Black hesitate so much to take him back? Why did it take so much for him to reform that connection with her? Obviously, Black knew something we didn't."

"She was hesitant probably due to the fact that he had been gone for so long." Keith defended, glaring at the other. "She probably wasn't sure if he could handle it, but that must have changed because she did take him back."

"Because you pushed her to." Pidge shot back. "Keith, I know you don't want to think bad of Shiro, not when you two are so close, but even you have to know that something is wrong with him."

Keith frowned, reluctant to agree with the Green Paladin but at the same time, hesitant to go against his brother. But he knew that Pidge was right, he knew deep down that there was something wrong with Shiro beyond the trauma, something that had yet to be brought to light.

Letting out a sigh, Keith let his head fall back against the couch. "I know. Look, I have a few more days here so I'll see if I notice anything specific."

"You could also try talking to Black." Lance offered, looking at Keith with what something the half-galran couldn't identify in his eyes.

"I don't know. That might cause more problems if I try to connect with Black again why Shiro is still her Paladin."

"Yeah, but Black could probably tell you things that Shiro won't." Lance shot back, looking Keith in the eye.

"I wouldn't hurt." Pidge supported getting a nod from Hunk as well in agreement.

"Besides," Lance continued, this time a smile coming to his face as he leaned forward. "I bet you haven't visited her since you came back. That probably hurt her feelings, if you ask me-"

"I didn't."

"-and you were still her Paladin so it would make sense if you went to her hanger and said hello, right?" Lance smirked, ignoring the interruption from the other. "As Pidge said, it wouldn't hurt."

"I'll think about it." Keith replied, getting a groan from the others to which he rolled his eyes. However, after that, it seemed the tense conversation had come to a close and soon they were turning back to the card game. However, the rest of the time Keith couldn't help but think about all they said and his worry for his brother grew.

* * *

Over the next couple of days, Keith continued to do his job as the representative of the Blade of Marmora but at the same time started to keep an even closer eye on Shiro. The other Paladins would seek him out as well, making him spend time with them rather than hiding off in his room (rather similar to how things had happened back at the start of their time in space if Keith was being honest). There was still that tension around the four of them when the mention of Shiro came up, but now they tried to keep that subject out of sight until it was absolutely needed to be talked about.

However, that didn't mean Keith wasn't thinking about it. He was noticing it now, the way Shiro acted around the others, the way his tone and actions were different, the way he was just _not _Shiro. It ranged from little things like his small body movements, no longer seemingly leaning into people to be welcoming but rather being cold and distant, to completely dismissing the other Paladins when they had an idea (some of which Keith actually thought were pretty good).

And that led him to where he was now, standing before Black in her hanger, staring up into the yellow eyes.

"Hey girl." He said, his voice coming out quietly and as a breath of air. "It's been a while, huh?"

There were no sounds from the lion but Keith could feel that bond reawakening as he spoke, her presence brushing up against his mind. It was always so different from Red's, so much calmer and just so...so different.

_'Like Shiro'_ Keith thought, his lips pulling into a frown. Black seemed to catch onto this thought, though, and soon her head was coming down so that Keith could place a hand against her giant maw.

"Do you know something?" Keith asked. "Can you...can you tell me why Shiro is...so different? I thought he was fine. He looked the same and...and for a while he even sounded the same, but he's not. There's something wrong with him and I need to know so I can help him. Please, let me help him."

Black's eyes flashed at those words and Keith placed his forehead against the lion, closing his eyes as he felt her presence wash over him. His brow furrowed as Black's doubts and worries washed over him as well as what felt like another presence in his mind. He tried to focus on it and even his lion seemed to be pushing him towards the feeling. Soon, a faint voice seemed to be reaching out, calling out to him. It sounded familiar. Everything felt familiar. It all felt like…

_'Shiro?'_

"Keith?"

Keith was snapped out of his concentration by the sudden voice, his head shooting up from where it was pressed against his lion and his eyes opening to see who had called to him. There, in the doorway of the hanger, stood Shiro, his face pulled into a confused frown. As he started to walk forward, Keith couldn't help but feel the need to back away. This wasn't the same feeling he just felt through the lion, this Shiro didn't seem to radiate the same warmth and familiarity, and the fact that Black let out a low growl behind him didn't help.

"Shiro." Keith acknowledge, turning to face the other completely as he fought back the instinct to run.

The black Paladin finally came to stand before Keith, his eyes looking up at the lion behind the other before looking back down at the other.

"What are you doing?" Shiro asked, his eyes scanning the raven haired teen.

"Just visiting Black." Keith replied, his own eyes watching the other as well.

"Why?" Shiro asked. "You didn't need to. You're not her Paladin anymore."

The words hurt, just a bit, but the soft growl that came from Black was a small balm on the hurt. "I know." Keith replied. "But I was, once. I figured it wouldn't hurt to say hello."

"I thought we established this wasn't a time for a vacation."

"We did, but there are breaks and I don't know when I'll be back again."

"Still, you had no reason to visit the lions. As I said, you're no longer a Paladin so there should be no reason for you to be here."

Keith swallowed. "That makes it sound like I shouldn't even be contacting you unless its a mission thing."

"Honestly, you really shouldn't be. We are trying to fight a war here Keith. We can't have you getting in the way by wanting to visit." That hurt.

"Look, just because I'm not in the Castle any more or even a Paladin any more doesn't mean you should cut me off!"

"Look, you were the one who walked away from us Keith, you were the one who pushed us away. You were the one who felt you better suited the Blades rather than be a Paladin. You did, not us. If you were fine with that, and to be honest I was also fine with it since all you seemed to do was cause problems by not being here, then you should have no reason to contact us. If you wanted to break ties so badly, you need to stick with it."

Keith let out a bitter laugh. "That never stopped you in the past. Whenever I tried to run away, you still came after me! Hell, I stole your car and your forgave me! What makes this any different?"

"It's different because not only where you pushing us away, but you were being selfish Keith." Shiro shot back making pain strike Keith in the heart. "I put yourself above Voltron. You wanted to do something, but only wanted to do it your way. If anything, you have no right to be here right now, you have no right to be touching Black."

"What, you're just banning me outside of meetings, than?" Keith asked, shock on his face. "Is that it?"

"If I have to, yes. You're only going to cause us problems otherwise."

_'He's getting rid of me?!'_ Keith couldn't believe it. After all this time, Shiro was finally doing what he had promised he would never do. "What are you talking about?! Why?!"

"I'm just realizing something I should have years ago." Shiro replied with a shake of his head. "You're right, I have always chased after you when you tried to run away, but not this time. I see now why people always left you behind, why your family left you behind, you just cause trouble. You caused trouble before when you were trying, and failing might I add, to lead the Paladins. You're causing trouble now, by not sticking with your actions and your mission. I bet you even connected with Black, even when you are no longer her Paladin, am I right?"

"Shiro-"

"You'll risk breaking my bond with her, just for some nostalgia. Honestly, I don't know why I never gave up on you before, but now I can clearly see how selfish you are. So I'll finally give you what you want, I'll cut all the ties between us. After all, it's probably what's best for everyone."

"Wait, Shiro-"

"I don't know why I ever called you my brother."

Silence. As those words pierced the air, Keith found himself unable to breathe as the pain struck his heart. Those words he's feared all his life, those words that had made his scared to get close to anyone, finally came to reality. Shiro had promised, he had told Keith that he would never regret calling Keith his brother. Two sides raged inside of Keith, one that told him Shiro was right, that this was bound to happen and Keith needed to accept it. The other side told him that this wasn't Shiro and that this was another sign that something is very, very wrong. Black's presence rose up once again and seemed to encourage that second thought.

Despite the fear in his throat, Keith spat out his next words, strengthened by Black's support.

"You're not Shiro."

More silence. Shiro stared down at Keith, one eyebrow coming up to quirk itself at the teen as his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What are you talking about, Keith?"

"Y-You're not Shiro, or at least...You would never say that!" Keith was fighting back a tremble in his hands now. The last time these types of words had been spoken, it had been a hologram, a test of will. Afterwords, Shiro had reassured him that it was all false. That means this has to be false, right? This all has to be wrong?

"People change, Keith. That's what happens when you constantly push them away and don't keep in contact."

"But I was!" Keith denied. "I kept in contact! I...I got better with talking to the others!...I only left because you needed to be the leader! You were better as the leader! And...and with the Blades it felt like I could do something, like I-"

"You're right, you weren't doing anything as a Paladin." Shiro spoke up, cutting the other off with his sharp words. "You were a hopeless leader and you couldn't contribute anything. It's why I supported you leaving. I hoped you could actually do something, but obviously you aren't contributing to the Blades either. After all, why else would they send you just to be the messenger boy."

That whole time, Keith was shaking his head, fighting back the tears that had started to gather at those words. It wasn't true. Shiro wouldn't say these things.

"If I remember, you were the last to be chosen for a lion, perhaps you were never meant to be a Paladin and Red had just chosen you out of convenience. I bet she was happy when you were taken up by Black, who in turn was upset until you finally left for the Blade. All the people leaving you over the years makes sense now."

"Shut up." Keith growled under his breath as his fists clenched at his side. "You're wrong."

"Am I?" Shiro asked. "Face it Keith, I'm just telling you want you should have been told years ago. By telling me I'm not me, you're just trying to come up with a way to deny it."

"Shut up!" Keith cried, his anger finally getting the best of him as he aimed a punch at the man before him. Shiro's eyes widened at the sudden attack, but he was quickly able to dodge the punch and grab onto Keith's arm as he flew past. Acting quickly, he attempted to twist Keith's arm behind his back, but the thinner man used his agility to spin around and kick Shiro in the head with a leg, allowing him to free his arm from the other.

Getting up from where he had been kicked to the ground, Shiro turned his glare on Keith, whose eyes had shifted to have yellow sclera and slitted pupils in response to his overflowing emotions.

"Heh," Shiro scoffed, letting his hand come up to where he'd been hit in the face. "Always one to let those emotions get the best of you."

A low growl came from Keith in response, his fists once again at his side as he appeared to try to push back his anger. Before either could act further, footsteps came from the direction of the doorway and they both turned to see the other Paladins and Alteans rushing into the room.

Allura took in the sight before her- Keith panting with his fists clenched and fading eyes and Shiro with his hand to his jaw- and spoke. "What is going on here?"

"It's fine Princess." Shiro spoke up as he stood. "There was just a misunderstanding, that's all."

"It looks as though there was a fight." Allura replied, her eyes narrowed on the two of them.

"Really, it's fine. We were just having a discussion and things got a little heated, that's all. I don't hold it against Keith." Shiro said, turning his smile on the other boy. "Right? No hard feelings?"

"Keith?" Allura asked, turning to the other who had yet to unclench his fist.

When he didn't respond, even after a couple of minutes had past, they called to him again and this time he spoke. "I...he…" Then he trailed off again, clearly struggling to get his thoughts in order.

"What were you talking about?" Lance spoke up from the back, his quick eyes easily seeing that Keith wasn't radiating anger, but rather distress. Typically, it wouldn't be at Shiro and even then, Shiro would be trying to calm Keith down, not just ignore the problem unless that was the only solution. If Lance had to guess, it something related to the discussions about Shiro had happened and something bad. Especially since, in the back of his mind, he could tell Red was distressed about something.

And that something was probably Keith.

"Nothing important." Shiro replied with a wave of his hand.

"'Doesn't seem like it's not important." Pidge hummed, quirking an eyebrow.

"Really, we're fine." Shiro protested. However as he turned to no doubt approach Keith, a growl came from the Black Lion, making everyone freeze at the noise. Even Keith seemed surprised as his eyes flicked to the sentient ship.

"Black?" Keith asked, his brow now furrowed. He seemed to have relaxed to an extent, especially now that his gaze was on the lion.

"Shiro, Keith, what is going on?" Allura asked again. Neither answered as Shiro just seemed to be able to stare at the lion while Keith began to approach it. As Keith drew close enough, the jaws of the lion opened and allowed the half-galran to enter before snapping shut to everyone else.

"Shiro! Answer me now, what happened?!" Allura snapped, wanting to know what was going on with the Paladin and former Paladin.

"I don't know. All we were doing was talking, we had a disagreement, and Keith got a bit angry. You know how much of a temper he has." The tone of his voice made the younger Paladins frown. Sure, Shiro has mentioned Keith's temper before, but never with such a mocking tone, never using it as a defining feature. Mention it, maybe occasionally tease Keith, sure. But he's always acted as if it was something Keith has been working on and something they shouldn't blame him for. Yet here he was, his voice saying that this should have been expected, that they should side with him.

"We know he has a temper." Lance spoke up, "But even I'll admit that he had been working on it. So obviously, something else happened as well."

"Lance is right." Pidge said, crossing their arms. "So, what is it?"

"Shiro, I want you to be honest with me." Allura said, narrowing her eyes, daring him to brush this off once again. "So tell me what it was exactly you two were talking about."

Shiro sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, well, I came in and I found Keith talking with Black. We talked a bit and I asked him if he was trying to bond with her even though he knows he isn't her Paladin anymore. Things got a bit heated and suddenly Keith was telling me I wasn't...well...me. Ridiculous, right?" He let out a slight laugh at the end, trying once more to brush this off but the others wouldn't have it.

"Why did things get heated? You're still not telling us everything."

"Look, as I said, we were talking and Keith started to take some of my words badly, thinking I wanted him gone for good. I know when he accused me of not being myself, I said a few things that I don't really remember but I know weren't nice. I'd apologize to him, but now it seems I can't." With that he gestured towards the Black Lion that was currently holding Keith within.

"I see." Allura replied, her eyes looking over Shiro for a second before turning back to the lion. "Clearly though, the Black Lion wants Keith for some reason, and then we will discuss more once he is returned to us. Until then, we can only wait since we won't be reaching Keith until Black decides to let him out."

"I can try to-" Shiro started only to be cut off by the Altean princess.

"No, we will respect the Black Lion's wishes. If she wishes to speak to Keith alone then we shall allow her to do so."

Shiro didn't look like he agreed with that, but said no more.

* * *

**So that was that. Originally it was going to be just a one-shot, but it is longer than this so, its now a two shot. It worked better that way to me at least.**

**Feel free to comment or anything else. **

**Until next time! :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**OK so this is a next chapter!**

**This was inspired by the Song "Somebody Else" by Flora Cash. More specifically by the refrain. Obviously I do not own this song nor the lyrics! Also this is not a song fic. Its just inspired by a song.**

**I do not own Voltron Legendary Defender. I do not own the lyrics of "Somebody Else".**

**Also.**

"Regular talk"

_'Thinking/thoughts'_

**Onto the story!**

* * *

As Keith entered the Black Lion, he couldn't help the sigh of relief he had from being away from Shiro. And that thought just made him furrow his brows in frustration, for when had he ever wanted to be away from Shiro?

Black rumbled around him and Keith let out another sigh. "Right, thanks Black."

Suddenly the lights lit up near the chair and Keith gave the lion a questioning look. "You want me to sit in the pilot's seat? Black, I'm not your Paladin."

A growl was given in response and Keith flinched at the anger within it.

"Right, ok. Alright, I'll sit." Keith consented, moving to sit in the chair. As he sat down, he let out a sigh at the familiar feeling of the pilot's seat, his heart both calming and speeding up at the familiar feeling. To think he left this behind. No, he shook his head, this was necessary.

However, in the next second he felt Black once again pushing against his mind, similarly to the moment before Shiro had interrupted the two of them. Seeing no harm in opening his mind once more, Keith allowed himself to bond with the lion. With a gasp, the air left his body as he seemed to fall for a few seconds. Eyes shooting open, Keith's brain froze as it took in his surroundings.

All around him was what seemed to be space. Below was the same gathering of stars, but it was strangely solid beneath his feet. Looking down at himself, Keith noticed that he had an odd purple glow to his body.

"Wha..?" He questioned, his gaze roaming around as he tried to figure out what was happening.

"Keith."

The half-galran jumped at the sound of his name being breathed out behind him. Whipping his head around, Keith found himself face to face with Shiro. Keith took a step back at the sight, hesitant to trust in the sight of his brother figure, the previous conversation still ringing in his ears. Black brushed against him mind, easing his anxieties and allowing him to take a closer look at this Shiro. There was a softer look to him, something so much more familiar. The air around him made Keith want to come closer, much different than the previous encounter.

"...Shiro?" Keith called hesitantly. At the call, Shiro seemed to relax even more and he gave a small yet kind smile to the younger man.

"Keith," He breathed again and the former Paladin couldn't help but notice that this voice of Shiro sounded right to his ears. "Oh, god, I'm so glad I was able to reach you. Oh my god!" His voice was so excited, so relieved that Keith could only stare in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Keith asked, his arms crossed in front of him as a type of defense, still wary of getting closer to the other. "I just talked to you."

"No, no Keith." Shiro shook his head, his face turning desperate making a sharp pain hit in Keith's chest. "No, no please understand, that's not me. That isn't me out there, Keith, please you have to believe me."

Keith swallowed. "If...If that's not you, then who is it? And...and where are you then?"

Shiro slumped, eyes turning sad. "I...I don't know who it is, to be exact, but its not me. It's a clone of some sort or something. I...I really don't know but believe me when I say it's not me."

"Where are you, Shiro?" Keith repeated, refusing to say more until he heard it all.

The Shiro before him paused, clearly hesitant in telling Keith what it was that he wanted to know. But Keith wouldn't have that. Not after just hearing his brother tell him all of his worst nightmares. No, if this was really Shiro and he never said any of those things then he wanted to know where he can get his brother back.

"Shiro." Keith pressed, not backing down.

After a few more seconds of silence, Shiro opened his mouth.

"I'm dead, Keith."

Ringing started in his ears. This couldn't be true. His brother wasn't dead! Unconsciously, Keith had started to shake his head and step away from the other. At his actions, Shiro's expression turned even more sad, his hand reaching out to his younger brother. "Keith-"

"No!" Keith cut in, his voice cracking from his emotions. "No! You're...you're not dead! You...you can't be! You're right there! I'm talking to you right now! Y-You...you can't...you're not…" He trailed off as his head tilted down to the ground. Trembles raced their way across Keith's body as he fought to keep his emotions in check.

"I know." Shiro spoke softly, moving closer only by a silent step with his hands up in a peaceful motion. "I know Keith."

"You're right here! You're not-!"

"I don't know how it works, but this is only my spirit, Keith. My body has been long gone since the fight with Zarkon. I've been here, inside of Black, ever since."

"Why?" Keith asked, his sorrow clearly showing through his voice. "Why?!" This time the question was directed to the air around them, to the lion that brought them both here. There was no answer.

"As I said, I don't know." Shiro said once more, coming closer to the distraught teen before him. "But I've been trying so hard to reach all of you. I've tried so hard and I was starting to lose hope that I'd never be able to reach you. And then that...that fake came around and you all went with him so willingly and I just…" He sighed. "I'm just so glad I've been able to reach you. To see you again." His arms came to wrap Keith in a hug, pulling the half-galran close. Keith allowed his hands to clasp onto his brother.

"I knew it." Keith muttered, letting his face press into Shiro's chest. "I knew he wasn't you."

"Of course you did." Shiro said with a soft smile before it faded. "Keith...did something happen? I got some feelings through Black but...did he do anything to you? Did something-?"

"It's fine." Keith bit out, cutting the other off. It wasn't real, so there was no point in bringing up the conversation now. "We just need to figure out what to do with him and how to help you."

Shiro let out a sigh. "I don't know if you can help me. Just...focus on the clone for now. As long as you do that, I'll be fine."

"No," Keith protested, stepping away from the other. "No, I'm not just...just leaving you here. There has to be a way to help you after we deal with him. I'm not leaving you to die, Shiro. I'm not losing you again."

"Keith." Shiro sighed, looking at the other sadly.

"No." Keith shot back, his eyes narrowed in determination. "I'm coming back for you. Even if it takes several different attempts, I'm not leaving you here."

Shiro shook his head, but he knew there was nothing that would shut down his brother's determination. "Alright." Then he called a smile onto his face. "I was good to see you."

"You too." Keith replied, giving his own smile. "See you later, alright?"

"Sure."

With that a bright light shines through the world and Keith closed his eyes against it. When he opened his eyes, he was in the cockpit of the Black Lion.

* * *

They were all waiting for Keith to come out of the lion. It had been about an hour or so now, but the lion had yet to show any sign of letting Keith out.

"How much longer is he going to stay in there?" Lance complained, let his head rest against the wall behind where he was sitting. "He's taking forever!"

"Clearly Black needed to tell him something important." Pidge spoke up from where they were working on their laptop.

"Yeah, but it's taking forever!"

"Maybe Black was helping Keith calm down and then talked to him." Hunk offered. "I mean, he seemed pretty worked up."

"We shouldn't rush the lions." Allura spoke up. "After all, there must be a reason, especially since the Black Lion wanted Keith rather than Shiro. Obviously it is something he needs to hear."

During all of this, Shiro remained silent, his eyes watching the Black Lion closely.

After a few more moments of sitting in silence, there was finally movement form the Black Lion. They all watched as the head shifted so that it lay against the floor once more (the lion having lifted her head once Keith was inside) and the jaw open up. Once it was open, Keith made his way out of the door and down the jaw, looking straight at Shiro.

"Keith, what-"

"Don't speak." Keith cut the Shiro in front of him off, his eyes narrowed. Looking at him one would think that the narrowed gaze is from anger due to the previous disagreement, but in reality it out of determination. Well, there still might be a little bit of anger but it was mostly determination.

"Keith, what happened?" Allura asked, trying to understand everything that had gone down.

"Black was helping me understand a few things." Keith answered but his eyes never left the form of Shiro. "I apologize if it took a while, but it took me a bit to understand it as well."

"What'd she tell you?" Lance asked, standing up but taking notice of the tense way Keith stood, almost as if he was ready for someone to make a sudden movement.

For a second, Keith's eyes flicked to him, as well as all the others, before settling back on Shiro.

"This isn't Shiro."

Silence.

No one knew what to say as they stared at Keith in confusion, their eyes jumping between him and Shiro. As for Shiro, he had continued to stare Keith down in return, neither breaking their gaze. Eventually, Shiro scoffed.

"Are you still on about this? I don't know what made you think that I'm not myself, but you're wrong Keith."

"I'm not." Keith replied. "Black confirmed it."

"Hold on." Allura broke in, moving forward in an attempt to further understand the situation. "Keith, what are you talking about? What do you mean by the Black Lion confirmed that Shiro is...not Shiro?"

"What I mean is that this person before us is not Shiro." Keith repeated, his gaze intense. "I don't know who he is, but he isn't Shiro."

"Yeah, but how do you know this." Lance spoke up.

"Because…" Keith took a deep breath before continuing, finding the strength to say these words. "Because Shiro...Shiro is dead."

"Wait, what?"

"What the hell?!"

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean that Shiro is dead!" Keith shouted above everyone to get them to quiet down. After taking another breath, he continued. "He's gone...or at least his body is."

Before him, this Shiro was shaking his head. "What are you talking about, Keith? I'm right here. Are you ok? Did something happen? Perhaps this is what happens when you try to reach out to a bond that isn't there anymore."

But the former Paladin only shook his head. "No, don't even try that on me. I know you are not Shiro, I just don't know what you are exactly."

"Then where is your proof?" Shiro asked, "Go on. What proves that I am not who I say I am?"

"Because I talked with the real Shiro." Keith replied causing another round of exclamations and cries of shock.

"I thought you said he was dead." Pidge spoke up above everyone, their eyes narrowed at the former Paladin. "How could you have talked to him then."

"As I said, it's his body that's dead." Keith replied before shaking his head. "Look, I don't understand it either, ok? But apparently, after the battle with Zarkon, when Shiro vanished, he died and his soul or whatever it is was taken into the Black Lion. I know this sounds crazy, but believe me when I say that I just talked to him. I talked to the real Shiro."

"How do you know it was the real Shiro." Pidge continued, "Look, I know you probably would know Shiro better than the rest of us, but what you're saying sounds completely crazy."

"I know it does." Keith said with a sigh. "I'd probably be the person who was doubting this too, but trust me when I say this. That man," He pointed at the Shiro in front of them all. "Is not Shiro. Shiro is in the Black Lion."

"And just how are you going to prove this?" Shiro asked, raising an eyebrow at the other.

"I...I don't know." Keith admitted.

"Exactly." Shiro sighed. "Look, maybe you need to go calm down somewhere, take a deep breath and then we can talk about just what was going on here. Ok?"

"No!" Keith exclaimed, fists clenching. "I know I sound crazy, ok? But I swear I'm not!"

"You said his soul is in there, right?" Hunk spoke up, hoping to calm the situation. "I mean...that's energy, or at least, is supposed to be energy. Is there any way you can use some of that...that Altean magic to find out?" With that last question, he directed it at Allura who furrowed her eyebrows in thought.

"I-I don't know, to be honest." Allura replied. "But I don't suppose it could hurt. Looking for Shiro's energy in the Black Lion, that is."

"Really?" Keith's eyes seemed to brighten at this, expressing his hope that someone was willing to support him on this.

"You're not seriously going to go along with this, are you?" Shiro scoffed, something so unlike him.

Allura narrowed her eyes at the current Black Paladin. "Of course. Clearly the Black Lion had something to tell Keith. If this is what it was, then there should be no reason for me to doubt him unless it was Keith who misinterpreted the message."

"Allura-"

"Enough, Shiro." Allura cut him off, not wanting to hear anymore. She had made up her mind on this. Turning her gaze onto the Black Lion, the Altean princess moved forward until she was standing before the ship. Reaching out, she placed her hand upon the cool metal and, after closing her eyes, reached out with her quintessence.

For a while, no one spoke. No one moved. No one wanted to disturb whatever was going on here as the soft glow formed around Allura's hand. One could almost believe no one was breathing with how still everyone was. After a few moments of this, Allura eventually allowed her eyes to open and let out a soft sigh. She stood there, not looking at any of them.

"Allura?" Lance called, hoping to bring her attention to them. At first, nothing happened. Then, she turned her head slowly to look at each of the Paladins-both former and current-before her and spoke.

"Arrest him." Her hand was pointing at Shiro.

"Wait?"

"What are you talking about!?"

"Are you serious?!"

"Come on, Allura, you can't really be going along with this, are you?" Shiro asked, his feet taking a few steps back at the looks he was being given from both the princess and the half-galran. In fact, Keith had already drawn his blade and awakened it in preparation should anything happen.

"I would like to figure out what is going on as well." Allura spoke, her voice filled with authority. "But if we wish to do that, you need to come with me peacefully so we can understand what is going on."

"I'm not a criminal."

"I never said you were." Allura replied. "Now will you come peacefully?"

Shiro's eyes flickered between her and the others in the room, clearly deciding on what to do here. For a tick, they believed he would cooperate with all of them, only for the Shiro before them to suddenly smirk, his mechanical arm glowing purple with power. He threw his head back in laughter and when his head lowered back down, they could see his pupils were glowing an unnatural purple.

"I see that you have finally seen through my trick." A distorted voice said through this body of Shiro. "I didn't think any of you would."

"Wait, what the hell?!" Lance cried, jumping away from the imposter.

"Haggar." Allura spat, her eyes narrowed at the clone.

"Indeed." Haggar sneered. "I'll admit, this was the most practical way of infiltrating you, not only for getting close, but I've found that the Champion's body is a great weapon. Of course, this would have gone on longer, if not for a certain half-breed." The clone's eyes glared at Keith who only narrowed his eyes further. "I don't suppose you'll let me go? After all, this is clearly only a body. I am far from this ship."

Keith growled and hoisted his sword up further, prepared to attack. "I don't care if it's just his body. I'm not letting you take him with you."

"Oh, isn't that sweet." Haggar taunted, "But I'm not about to lose a valuable experiment."

Keith didn't wait a second more. He charged, swinging his blade at the clone. In response, the clone grinned and met the swing of the blade with their own weapon, sword clashing with the lazer sword that grew from the arm as what seemed like the purple energy from it spread further up into the clone's body.

"Keith, wait!"

He didn't listen, his focus one the imposter before him. In truth, he really didn't like the idea of fighting his brother-real or fake. It was different in training, this whole thing was different. He's fighting his brother with the entire risk of harming one another.

And there seemed to be no way around it.

Their weapons continued to clash and the two continued to dodge. At one point, the other Paladins gained access to their bayards and soon it wasn't just Keith fighting Shiro, it was everyone. Allura had contacted Coran to shut the hanger's doors so that Haggar would have no chance of escape and reach the escape pods. Haggar took notice of the doors starting to close and started to rush towards them, Lance and Hunk both shooting their weapons to keep the other from reaching it. It worked as the doors closed before the clone got out and Haggar turned to sneer at the group.

"Well, aren't you working well as a team."

"Well, that's obviously the idea." Lance called, frowning when the clone hid behind one of the many crates in the hanger.

"Of course, do you really work well as a team?" Haggar mocked, this time Shiro's voice coming from the clone's lips. "I mean, none of you ever picked up on that fact that this wasn't your 'Shiro'. Not only that, but it took the old Paladin that you all pushed away to even figure out that something was going on here. I'd say you weren't a very close team, in my eyes."

"Shut up!" Keith growled, his blade swinging wildly.

"You clearly don't understand teamwork." Lance scoffed from his position in the room, easily adjusting his shots for the change in Keith's attack. After all, he was the sharp shooter and if there was one thing he learned from working with Keith in the past, he needed to be ready for the other to change at any moment, instincts always being the leading factor for the raven haired teen. "Sure, we have a few bumps here and there, but we always know how to come back from it. In fact, you weren't as spot on as you thought you were. We picked up on the fact that he was different, we just needed the whole team here to piece it together. So sure, we've messed up, but what team doesn't on occasion.?"

"You said it, Lance!" Hunk cheered, a wide smile forming on his face for his friend.

Haggar continued to sneer from Shiro's body, attempting to avoid the continuous attacks from the group but they were quickly gaining on her. One good shot from Pidge gave the opening they needed as the Green Paladin's bayard hit the prosthetic arm and delivered an electrical current into it. As this happened, Keith came up behind and his blade was slicing through the metal arm, severing it from the body.

Haggar let out one last cry as the arm was severed before the glow in the eyes of Shiro's body vanished and it collapsed to the group, unmoving. Everyone froze, processing what had happened, before Hunk spoke.

"Is...Is that it?" He asked, his bayard detransforming.

"I...think so." Pidge replied, their voice coming out as a breath of air.

"Coran, set up a pod in the medical bay." Allura spoke into her earrings. "We'll bring the body to analyze what had happened and work from there." She must have gotten confirmation from the other as soon she was looking at the other Paladins. "Alright, let's get...him to the medical bay."

Allura needed no help lifting Shiro's body so the others just followed along silently. Keith had hesitated as he was about to leave the room, his eyes lingering on the Black Lion for a few seconds before a hand on his shoulder pulled his gaze away from it.

"Hey, it will be fine." Hunk said, hoping the smile he was offering helped.

"...Yeah."

* * *

"This is astounding." Coran exclaimed as he looked at the information from the cryopod. "This body has the same structure as our other Shiro, no differences other than the fact he's now missing the prosthetic and that there seems to be an odd chemistry going on in his brain."

"What do you mean by that?" Keith asked.

"Well, it would seem that his mind is able to do everything a brain is supposed to do except that it is being done without any thought process or personality behind it." Coran replied. "It can still store memories, something that Haggar no doubt had so she could go off of things, but in essence, this is a body without a soul of its own."

"So...Haggar could still be in control of Shiro then? Do we have to worry about that?" Pidge asked, tilting their head and their brows furrowing with worry.

"I don't think so." Coran replied with a shake of his head. "Without her consciousness actually being in the body, Haggar had to find a different way to connect to it. And if I were to guess what that was, I'd say it was Shiro's robotic arm."

"So, it's a good thing Keith cut it off." Lance perked up, his hand falling onto Keith shoulder. "Look's like your impulsiveness paid off."

"When doesn't it pay off?"

"I can think of a few times."

"Hey-"

"Lance, Keith, not now." Allura cut in, glaring at the two teens before turning to look back at the pod. "At least we know Haggar is no longer here."

"But what about Shiro?" Keith spoke up, his attention no longer on Lance's teasing. "I mean real Shiro, in the Black Lion. Do we have any way of helping him? I mean, we won't just leave him there, right?"

"You could feel Shiro in the lion, though, right?" Pidge spoke up, their eyes glinting with an idea. "You could feel his quintessence. Not only that, but in the past you were able to transfer quintessence into the Balmera to keep it from dying. Perhaps you can transfer Shiro's consciousness from the lion into this body since the body also needs a...mind so to speak. Plus, it's already Shiro's body, give or take whether it was made or it actually is his body."

"It's not a bad idea, princess." Coran spoke up. "I know of a few records that talk of transferring a person's soul and quintessence into another thing, though it's not exactly a common practice."

"I don't know." Allura muttered, her forehead creasing in doubt.

"Allura, please." Keith pled, something that rarely ever did. In fact, the castle's occupants could only count a handful of times that they could recall the former Paladin asking like this. "We have to try something."

"...I...I will attempt to do so." Allura replied after a few ticks of silence. "But tomorrow. Today has been a rather eventful day and I need to look into these practices. But tomorrow...we will try to get Shiro back."

A wave a relief hit the air and while not all of the tension was gone, there was hope now.

Each of the Paladins went off to their respective rooms, wanting to rest for tomorrow. While for some the rest was not exactly restful, they were ready and waiting in the hanger the next day.

Soon, they were all once again gathered in the Black Lion's hanger and Allura was knelt between the lion and Shiro's body, hands touch the two and her eyes closed in concentration. A soft glow made its way over her body and soon took over the lion and the clone as well. No one dared to look away or make a movement as they watched, breath held deep in their lungs. It seemed to go on forever before there was change. Allura let out a soft gasp and suddenly all of the lions in their respective hangers were letting out loud roars. The glow that had been around the three seemed to increase and Shiro's hair even began to bleach beneath it, his locks now snow white. The air fell silent just as the glow died from the three before them, the Altean princess slumping forward to rest on her hands and knees.

No one dared to move or breath. For a moment, there didn't seem to be any change in the body of Shiro. They all tensed and Keith's hands began to form fists as he started to tremble. It had to have worked, right? Shiro couldn't still be-

A groan.

Their eyes snapped to focus on Shiro, and the breath was held further as they gasped. They dared to move forward slowly and even Allura, now regaining her bearings, was staring down at him.

"Shiro?" Keith called, the first to kneel by his side other that Allura who was already there.

Another groan and Shiro's face scrunched up as he seemed to be struggling to open his eyes.

"Come on, you can do it Shiro. Wake up." Keith pushed, his entire focus now on his brother figure and his hands moving to hold the other's shoulders. The other Paladins had joined the huddle as well, their own voices softly trying to encourage Shiro to wake up.

It seemed to take forever, but eventually grey eyes peeked out beneath his lids. They roamed and scanned out of focus, the now awakened body and soul getting used to the situation they found themselves in. However, Shiro seemed to eventually focus on the closest face to him.

"Keith."

A large smile broke out onto the former Paladin's face. "Shiro!" He didn't hold back and pulled Shiro into his arms, head buried into the Black Paladin's shoulder. "You're back!"

The older male let out a weary laugh but he returned the hug, his eyes turning to wearily look at the other Paladins. "Hey. It's...been a while."

"Shiro!"

There was a collective cry of joy as they all rejoiced over the return of their friend. After heart felt words, Coran eventually moved them all so he could look Shiro over and get him to the medical bay to ensure recovery.

As Keith let go of his brother, Shiro gave him a smile as he let his hand linger on the half-galran's shoulder. "I missed you, otouto."

"I told you I'd see you later."

A laugh. "I guess you did."

That voice and those eyes, Keith was positive that this was his Shiro. Even though he looked a bit different on the outside now, the personality was all the same.

This was Shiro. This was his big brother.

* * *

**Alright, that was that! I hope you all liked it! I apologize for the bad fight scene! I usually suck at those! So sorry!**

**Feel free to comment or anything else!**

**Until next time! :D**


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